Catalytic Conversion of Biomass to Monofunctional Hydrocarbons and Targeted Liquid-Fuel Classes
Edward L. Kunkes,
Dante A. Simonetti,
Ryan M. West,
Juan Carlos Serrano-Ruiz,
Christian A. Gärtner,
James A. Dumesic*
It is imperative to develop more efficient processes for conversion
of biomass to liquid fuels, such that the cost of these fuels
would be competitive with the cost of fuels derived from petroleum.
We report a catalytic approach for the conversion of carbohydrates
to specific classes of hydrocarbons for use as liquid transportation
fuels, based on the integration of several flow reactors operated
in a cascade mode, where the effluent from the one reactor is
simply fed to the next reactor. This approach can be tuned for
production of branched hydrocarbons and aromatic compounds in
gasoline, or longer-chain, less highly branched hydrocarbons
in diesel and jet fuels. The liquid organic effluent from the
first flow reactor contains monofunctional compounds, such as
alcohols, ketones, carboxylic acids, and heterocycles, that
can also be used to provide reactive intermediates for fine
chemicals and polymers markets.
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: dumesic{at}engr.wisc.edu
